From my favorite online tobacconist I placed an order which included Rimboche SJ. When I opened the package I found they had instead sent me a tin of RAMBACK the blend that rams you back™. No prob, I like turkish too.

The tin note smells like a freshly cracked pack of Camels and is also faintly ketchupy. The leaf inside is various shades of golden brown and very dry. This is neither a leathery nor minty oriental but rather a delicately sweet, "kitchen spice" type oriental. I find the taste to be reminiscent of McClelland's Yenidje Supreme but somehow bolder. This blend has a brother called Ramback Gold who admits to having a percentage of virginia -- this Ramback claims to have none, yet occasionally I catch that creamy hay like virginia taste. Also I consistantly find some measure of that back of the mouth spice a la perique but the liner note still claims 100% turkish, and there is no dark leaf present in the tin. There does seem to be a detectable amount of vitamin N here. Seems like a good price-to-value ratio. IMO this would make a good all day tobacc, which is exactly what I plan to do with it.

The Turkish is choice: fairly woody, earthy, and toasty, slightly floral and spicy, with a few sweet and sour notes. There are no toppings, and the cut is closer to shag than ribbon. Dry as are all the D&R blends, it burns quickly and can be harsh if you puff fast. Not very nuanced as it is a straight Turkish, and not an all day smoke, but it does well in small to medium doses. The nic-hit is mild to medium. Burns clean, leaves no moisture in the bowl and hardly needs a relight. It reminds me a little of smoking a Camel cigarette in your pipe, and if you like that, you’ll like this. Would make a good mixer, too.

The cut borders on shag. It burns exceedingly well with no dottle. "Ramback" is so named because it can ram you back, and the nicotine content is noticeable so plan ahead.

I smoked about 2/3rds of a tin and decided that it was just too much. Orientals make super condiments, and I just love Balkan blends. My favorite is Russ Ouelette's Mount Marcy. But this may be too much of a good thing. So I'm going to use the balance as blending tobacco.

Yes, I plan to buy another couple tins, and probably will smoke it from time to time - especially if I have to work late. But I plan generally to add it to weaker blends to add sparkle and zip.

Before I even got to smoke a bowl I met an obstacle, the damn ring-pull broke off the tin when trying to open it; kitchen utensils to the recue! After that problem's been overcome another rears its head: it's too dry.

The smoke has a few of the subtle Latakia traits, the woody/earthy ones. And although it's not a dazzling smoke, it's quite good. The only negative with the way Ramback smokes is due to the hydration: it burns fast. Other than that it's a nice tasting smoke: there's a slight buttery quality to it. Tongue bite eludes me throughout the whole pipe, whether sucked or sipped.

The nicotine's perfectly medium, and the room-note's quite pleasant.

For flavour alone this scores well, but on the whole I can't give it a full result. Even though it has a good taste the negative points are too bad, and as few as they are, reduce it to two stars; they just spoil it.

i got 3.5 ounces of this sitting around. everytime my good tobacco run out i take this out and try again. why do i keep doing this? this is horrible.

it came in a plastic container with transparent plastic sealed on top. and from day one it was dry as hell. i tried to smoke a few as they came. i tried to humidify it with a wet paper towel 6 hours before smoking. i tried to spray a little water and let it overnight. nothing makes it better. honestly, dry is the least worse. i think.

for me it is strong and flavourles. smokes exactly like a cigarette, but without any of the convenience.

i do smoke with a 9mm filter, and slowly, and i still get that tongue bite feeling. maybe it's because i have to relight it every draw. meh. will probably use what i have left (the whole thing) to make hamster beds.

it shows TM next to ramback on the can... the tin smell is actually nice. a faint apple like sweetness. nothing like that on the draw taste.

I bought a couple of ounces of this in bulk. I am a cigar and pipe smoker. Veteran cigar and somewhat of a noob to pipes (but an OCD noob and somewhat informed). I have purchased tins of blends considered Oriental i.e. McClelland Grand Orientals - Classic Samsun and McClelland Grand Orientals - Drama Reserve and having enjoyed those (keep in mind I am typically an aro guy-Dansk Black probably my #1) figured I would try Ramback Reg AND Ramback Gold. In a word? CRUNCHY. More words? Super dry. Arid. Desert. Thirsty.

NOTE: I entered "Medium" in filling in the blanks, truth is I have no idea. I'll be composting this stuff.

I contacted my vendor (they're nice folks so I will omit the name-they were nice enough about it-only mildly condescending) and they said:

"The condition of the Daughters & Ryan Tobacco is typical for that brand. They tend to ship their tobacco very dry because so many of their customers use it in RYO cigarettes. If you prefer the tobacco with more moisture, you can add moisture to it. Just take a damp paper towel..." Then do us all a favor, huh? LABEL IT AS RYO and schmucks like me won't be ordering it! OK, I have vented. Thank you. I needed that.

My thoughts on Ramback Regular are almost identical to JimInks. The moisture content is pipe ready. Due to the cut, it should be packed smoked with care. It has a woody flavor and was a bit sweeter than I had expected. There are no harsh spots and it’s monochromatic. It could easily be a “set it and forget it” type of all-day smoke for some although I would likely opt to use this as an additive to other blends. As a similar blend, I do prefer Stokkebye’s Turkish Export to this blend. Ramback isn’t quite a three star blend for me, especially in the later stages of the bowl, but it closer to three than two so three it is.

If you're into Turkish baccy's you owe yourself this one. It came a bit dry, and burned somewhat quickly, but never mind, fire up another bowl. My Ramback came in bulk form, a tin, I assume, would be less dry. This smoke is perfect for me, low on nic, mild, yet very tasty and exquisitely toasty (if this is a RYO I've no problem with that—other than burning faster than I'm used to, this blend, for me at least, worked very well in my pipe). Simply excellent!

As another reviewer alluded to, this tobacco reminds me of opening a pack of vintage Camels. Opening the bag of Ramback there is no discernible top note, just the smell of good honest quality leaf. Injected into a 'paper pipe' this stuff comes alive. A delicious and exotic spice flavor is evident from the very get go. Inhaling it gives a wonderful floral bouquet of flavor not unlike cascade hops used in beer. The exhale contains both of these flavors and a very earthy darker tobacco flavor. There is a very slight hint of sweetness that lingers on the pallet for awhile. Edited to note extreme difficulties in getting this blend to burn. Others have noted similar difficulty. I feel that warrants a reduction in total score.